Sunday, February 28, 2010

Horse Health Care – Equine First Aid Kit






I get a call from time to time to go to somebody’s place and help them with a horse injury or just to look at a horse that “just ain’t right”. Now I always tell people to call their Vet, but it seems like most of these calls are Friday night through Sunday night, when it is hard to get ahold of a Vet, or at best, you get an answering service. For the record my Vet is available 24/7 and 365 days a year unless she’s out of town – but not all the people I know use her. So, as well as having an organized Horse Medical - First Aid Kit for my own use on my own horses, it pays off for me to have a first aid kit I can throw into my truck without having to scrounge around loading up things I think I may need.

I use a “Big Mouth” canvas and nylon tool bag that I bought at Lowe’s and in it I have the following items:

Stethoscope
Digital Thermometer – the kind with a push button on feature and only takes about three second to get a reading.
Disposable rubber gloves
Duct Tape
Hoof Boot
(Easy Boot)
Wonder Dust Wound Powder
Blue Kote Wound Spray
Corona Anti Septic
– for wounds, but also good for coating a digital thermometer before you place it in the horse’s butt
Squirt Bottle of Alcohol. I also pack alcohol prep pads, but alcohol is cheap and squirting a lot on an injection site and cleaning with a gauze pad is probably a better way or ensuring you have a clean injection site
Gall Salve
Assortments of Syringes
, 12 cc to 30 cc and Needles, 18 and 20 gauge needles
Vet Wrap (lots of Vet wrap!)
Roll of Saran (Plastic) Wrap
Gauze Sponges and Gauze Pads
Kerlix Bandage
Cotton Roll
, 12 inch wide by 5 foot long roll of cotton
Medical Tape, Elastic type
Pelican Head Lamp as you invariably are looking at horses at night. I also have a ball cap with LED lights in the brim – that comes in handy too and I’m way too old to be concerned about looking geekish.
Bandage Scissors
Povidine-Iodine 10% Solution
Triple Antibiotic Ointment
Clear Eye Washing Solution
Opthalmolic Anti-Biotic Ointment
(for eye infections)
Ear Mite – Tick remedy (half Campho-Phenique and half Mineral Oil)

As you can see from the picture, I keep everything in zip lock bags to prevent dust and dirt from each item.
I also keep medicines in a fridge in the Tack Room, and I can grab it and throw it into my First Aid bag in a hurry:

Bute Paste
Pro-Biotics Paste
Fluxomine (Banamine) injectable solution
Penicillin Injectable Solution
Electrolyte Paste

In my saddle bags I always carry a small bottle of Wonder Dust Wound Powder and a roll of Vet Wrap with some guaze pads and the absorbent portion of a ladie’s tampon stuffed inside the Vet Wrap hollow roll. A lot of time a horse will get a horizontal laceration of a fore leg and those absorbent portions of a ladie’s tampon is a good fit for the wound.

Hope this helps you decide on what you need for your kit. I have to caution you that before your give medications, such as Banamine or anything else, consult your Vet.

1 comment:

  1. I have heard people including photonic therapy in their first aid kits. It really seems to be gathering support as a "must have" first aid tool. Does anyone have any experience using it with horses?

    ReplyDelete